Building a Connected World: The critical role of digital technical standards

About the Event

As digital trade continues to expand, technical standards have become essential for ensuring interoperability, scalability, and seamless integration among actors across global markets. This webinar explored the critical role of international technical standards in shaping the future of the digital economy.

Participants gained an understanding of what digital technical standards are, how they are developed, and why they matter for digital trade policy. The session covered international governance frameworks, approaches to standard-setting, the impact of trade agreements, and strategies major economies use to lead in defining these standards.

The webinar also examined the unique challenges developing countries face in engaging with digital standardization processes, offering practical recommendations for policy-makers.

Panel

Moderator:

• Alice Tipping, Director, Trade and Sustainable Development, IISD

Speakers:

• Craig Atkinson, Founder and Director, International Trade and Development Consulting, Lexmerca International Trade
• Dr. Hanane Becha, UN/CEFACT Vice Chair, Transport and Logistics Innovation & Standards Senior International Advisor

Discussant:

• Cindy Parokkil, Program Manager, Standards and Public Policy Program, ISO

This event is part of a series of technical webinars designed to deepen understanding of how policy and regulatory frameworks are evolving to support the growth of the digital economy and digital trade. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).